Joseph Pierson Voorhees, DDS

Joseph Pierson Voorhees, 92, passed away Sept. 13, 2012, at the Gardiner Hospice home, the home he and his wife Mary Ann originally built on the corner of 15th Avenue and Myrtle in 1956.

Born April 25, 1920, in East Orange, New Jersey, to Chester Barnes Voorhees and Emma Lord, he moved to Arizona at age 4. He attended Fair Hope School, Phoenix Union High School Class of 1938, Phoenix College and Arizona State University, and he graduated from the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, remaining a lifelong Trojan fan.

Voorhees served as a captain in the U.S. Army, 18-year board chair and member of the Orme Ranch school board, 14-year member of the Glendale Union High school board, member of the Arizona Historical Society and the Heard Museum, past president and eight-year member of the Arizona Intercollegiate Association, Optimists, member and past president of the Valley Field Riding and Polo Club, past member of Phoenix Country Club, and past president and member of the Iron Springs Outing Club, where he holds the record of being the oldest man on Top Rock.

A lifelong supporter of education, Joe practiced dentistry in Phoenix for 56 years. Retiring at age 79, he did volunteer dentistry for St. Vincent de Paul Dental Clinic.

Many happy times were spent with family and friends camping on the beaches of Mexico, digging for pot shards, picnicking, attending, by invitation, dances on the Second Mesa, listening to Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong and the Jazz greats, playing his weekly poker game, and weekends at Breezy Point.

He was pre-deceased by his beloved Mary Ann. He is survived by his daughter Dorian Voorhees of Tucson, son Joseph P. Voorhees III (Fran) of Phoenix, granddaughter Lauren Malanga of Tucson, grandsons, Joseph P. Voorhees IV (Hope) of Phoenix, Christopher Voorhees (Sheli) of Knoxville, Tenn., three great-granddaughters, Mackenzie, Caycie and Zoe, one great-grandson Rowan, and nieces, George Stillman of San Diego and Nancy D’Mura of Tucson.